Oakland's Marcel Reece (45) and Brice Butler celebrate after Reece caught a touchdown pass against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum on November 24, 2013 in Oakland, California. The Titans won the game 23-19. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Baltimore tight end Dennis Pitta (88) makes a reception against San Francisco's Donte Whitner during Super Bowl XLVII at the Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

We comb the Internet and beyond for the latest injuries, news and nuggets so you don’t have to.

POSTED: 11:49 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 8

Late news out of Philadelphia: Detroit running back Reggie Bush slipped during warmups on the snowy field and reaggravated his calf injury. His status for today is now in doubt. We just pulled him from our starting lineup (replacing him with the New York Jets’ Chris Ivory). We suggest you might do the same.

POSTED: 11:14 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 8

Baltimore tight end Dennis Pitta, who suffered a dislocated hip in July, will make his 2013 debut today against the Vikings. Considering the snowy weather, and his status as Joe Flacco’s security blanket, Pitta might be a great late pickup today. He had seven touchdown receptions last season, ya know!

Who could use Pitta? How about anyone who owns Washington’s Jordan Reed. The young tight end has been declared inactive today because of a concussion.

Two running backs have gotten the green light to play today in frigid Pittsburgh: Steelers starter LeVeon Bell (concussion) and Miami goal-line back Daniel Thomas (ankle).

POSTED: 10:39 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 8

Oakland’s Rashad Jennings, one of the pleasant surprises of the season, has not passed the dreaded concussion protocols, so he will sit out today’s game against the New York Jets. Since Darren McFadden has already been ruled out, that means fullback Marcel Reece will be the No. 1 runner for the Raiders today. Is he worth starting? Only if you are desperate.

Equally desperate is the quarterback situation for Cleveland. They’ll go with Jason Campbell today against New England. That is fantastic news if you can get your hands on the Patriots defense at this late hour. When you combine the bad weather with the bad quarterbacking, the Browns might never cross midfield.

One more update: Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams (quadriceps) will get the start tonight against New Orleans. He’d be a bettter starting option if it weren’t for Mike Tolbert stealing most of the goal-line carries.

POSTED: 9:44 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 8

There’s a slew of “questionable” players who have been cleared to play, led by Detroit running back Reggie Bush, who has been nursing a sore calf all week. He’ll start today in Philadelphia in the Lions’ critical game against the East-leading Eagles. The weather will be brisk, and so will his workload.

Arizona QB Carson Palmer (elbow) and RB Andre Ellington (knee) have also been cleared, though Rashard Mendenhall is expected to get the majority of carries for the Cardinals against St. Louis.

Others cleared to play early today include New England running back Stevan Ridley and Tampa Bay wideout Vincent Jackson. Feel free to start the latter. Ridley, on the other hand, is still some time away from getting back in the good graces of Bill Belichick.

POSTED: 8:41 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7

For many of you, the fantasy playoffs begin this week. For the rest, it’s the final game of the regular season. In any case, it’s a bad time to have your star players, especially your quarterback, in street clothes.

That’s especially true for Aaron Rodgers’ owners, who will gain zero points in most leagues Sunday for his discount double-check ads. Had you known his collarbone was so fragile, you might have passed on him in favor of “lesser” quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford and Cam Newton who would be much more helpful in Weeks 14 through 17.

This week is also a bad time to have your chronically disappointing players continue to disappoint. You think Eli Manning, Ray Rice or Hakeem Nicks are going to snap out of their funks just for you? Good luck with that.

So who can you turn to at this late hour? The pickings are no doubt thin on your waiver wires. But there are some potential gems available. We urged you to pick up Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey last week, and he torched the Vikings for 249 yards. Maybe we’ll strike gold again this week with one of these lesser lights:

Alex Smith, Chiefs QB: All he does is win, they say (at least until Kansas City’s recent skid). But he does occasionally post great numbers. Over the past three games, he has seven TD passes and more than 800 yards. And this week he gets the Redskins, whose pass defense is so bad it’s sometimes mistaken for the Vikings’. Grab him. Start him. You’ll be glad you did.

Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins QB: Speaking of quarterbacks off the radar, Tannehill has been quietly posting strong numbers while his bullying and bullied teammates got all the headlines. More than 3,000 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. Imagine how well he’d be doing if he weren’t getting sacked 12 times a game. Sunday in Pittsburgh, he won’t be.

Montee Ball, Broncos RB: Here’s the breakdown of the Denver running game last week in Kansas City: Ball ran 13 times for 117 yards; Knowshon Moreno ran 15 times for … hmmm … 18 yards. Moreno is still No. 1, but Ball is an especially intriguing No. 2. We’re guessing he keeps getting more carries until his next game-killing fumble. Then again, that could happen at almost ANY time.

Mike Wallace, Dolphins WR: It seems Miami’s coaches finally remembered they shelled out millions in the offseason to sign the Steelers’ best receiver. In past two games he has two touchdowns and more than 200 yards. And he’s going against his former team in Pittsburgh. A lot of folks have given up on the year’s most overpaid free agent. You shouldn’t.

Jacoby Jones, Ravens WR: When we last saw Mr. Jones, he was desperately trying to avoid running over Steelers coach Mike Tomlin along the sideline. On Sunday, you’ll likely see him waltzing uncovered through the Vikings’ secondary. He has 156 receiving yards over past two weeks. He might get that many by halftime on Sunday (slight overstatement alert).

Ladarius Green, Chargers TE: A San Diego tight end who isn’t named Antonio Gates? Well this second-year pro has touchdowns in each of the past two games, and he’s seeing a lot of action as the Chargers use more two-tight-end sets. And they’re facing the Giants, who have an average pass defense at best.

Donald Brown, Colts RB: The demotion of Trent Richardson is complete. Brown had 14 carries last week, to only five for Richardson. And Brown has three touchdowns over the past three games. The matchup against Cincinnati isn’t ideal, but this is no time to be too choosy.

Kevin Cusick talks fantasy football, and whatever else comes up, with Bob Sansevere and “The Superstar” Mike Morris on Thursdays on Sports Radio 105 The Ticket. Follow him at twitter.com/theloopnow.

Mr. Cusick, as he is called by his friends, has been a Pioneer Press staffer since latter days of Reagan administration (March 1987). Born on the mean streets of Brooklyn, raised on the mean streets of the Iron Range, educated on the mean streets of Northwestern's campus and now living on the mean streets of Woodbury. Responsible for nearly all Loop commentary and NFL picks in the Pioneer Press since 2003. One-time sports radio fantasy football guru. Occasional sidekick on Bob Sansevere's award-winning podcast. Alumnus of Little Flower School (East Flatbush, NY), Roosevelt High School (Virginia, MN), Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch and Greenville (SC) News. Proud member of the Bald Brotherhood.

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